Aerial survey by means of conventional film camera or videotape recording camera is a convenient and popular technique for permitting review of conditions over extended land areas. For example, the operators of gas transmission lines may utilize such techniques for producing a convenient film or tape record which may be viewed to reveal conditions on, and immediately adjacent to, the pipeline easement. In this manner hundreds of miles of pipeline may be easily and relatively quickly reviewed at operational headquarters by appropriate personnel.
Conventional techniques for conducting such surveys have included helicopter mounts and mounts for the fuselage of fixed wing aircraft. I have discovered that video recordings of the best possible quality and fidelity may be produced utilizing this invention, which permits a video camera-carrying gimbal to be mounted underneath the wing of fixed wing aircraft, spaced from the fuselage. The mount itself may be readily secured in position on the wing, and is quickly removable when not needed.